The dictionary tells us that the adjective favorite means preferred above all others of the same kind.
As a kid, my favorite color was purple which I paired with Kelly green walls. A bit psychedelic, but I did have two hippie chick aunts I looked up to. Currently, my favorite color is green…no, not Kelly green, but a more subtle sage. When I saw today’s blog prompt, I thought, how can I pick a favorite? It also made me think about how many times during my travels I am asked about my “favorites”. What’s your favorite country? What’s your favorite city? What’s your favorite movie? What’s your favorite book? What’s your favorite song? You get the idea and I get that it’s all part of the exercise of getting to know people. I’m guilty of this myself. When I have a new student or group of students it’s all part of the “get-to-know-you” routine. However, I have discovered instead of asking, “What’s your favorite movie?”, I get a much better response by saying, “Tell me about one of your favorite movies”, for instance. This seems to alleviate the distress of having to choose one thing. In the past, asking for a favorite anything usually got the response, “It depends”. I understand that it can depend on a lot of things and admit it, favorites change.
So, back on topic. On my phone, in my photo gallery, I keep a plethora of quotes. I keep them in albums based on the subject. For example, I have albums called “Dream Believe”, “Life”, “Friendship”, “Notes to Self”, and “Wanderlust”. I guess you could say I collect quotes because I also have pages in my journals (I keep multiples of those too) dedicated to quotes.
I have tossed around several great quotes that I like. Mother Theresa, “ I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” Albert Einstein, “The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. Those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before.” S.M. Klees, “There’s a quiet comfort in knowing I have not yet crossed paths with all the people who will bring magic into my life.”, and Terry Pratchett, “Why do you go away? So that you can come back, so that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors and the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
Ultimately, the quote I chose, I keep in an album called “Me”. It is a quote from Zelda Fitzgerald. “She quietly expected great things to happen to her. No doubt that’s one of the reasons why they did.” This quote reminds me that attitude is important. It also reminds me of my dad and something he always said to us. If I was struggling to do something, if I complained about being too hot or too cold, if something hurt, etc, I remember him saying, “Mind over matter”. He told us that we could do anything if we just put our minds to it. I remember being on the gymnastics team in Junior High School. I was struggling with a move on the uneven bars. He told me to start visualizing and doing it successfully. I would fall asleep thinking about nothing else. Now, I didn’t wake up the next day and master the move, but it wasn’t long before I nailed it. I think this is similar to what Zelda is saying. Many people think about the what-ifs and the worst things that can happen. I choose to think about the great or at least good things that can happen.
I recently re-read a book, “The Café on the Edge of the World”, by John Strelecky. One of the key messages in the book states, “People who have found their purpose, magically attract happiness.” You know, that feeling of bliss when things just fall into place. When you go with the flow and do what you enjoy, the world can seem full of happy coincidences. But are those really just coincidences? Or is there some other magical force at work? Is it mind over matter? Did you make it happen? When you do something that fulfills you, your whole aura changes. Your eyes light up just talking about it. Your energy is so contagious that other people are happy to support you. Again, I think this is what Zelda was talking about and why I chose it as my quote. In the end, being raised by parents who always told you that you, yourself had the power to be great, make great things happen, and do whatever you wanted in life, not always following society’s norms certainly molded me into the person I am today. My advice, expect great things! No, everything won’t always be great, because face it, sometimes life is shit. But more times than not, things will work out!
Down the Rabbit Hole 